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  • posted a message on [Primer] UR Storm
    I see the point but probably peer is not what we should cut. Going up to 11 1-mana cantrips makes it easier to find lands and cost reducers, so i'll cut 1 land (down to 17 once opt will be legal), 1 goblin and 1 remand. Noxious also add redundancy but i see the reason to run peer instead (i just run 1 atm but as you pointed out it's amazing, i hope i can find a place for a second one).
    Posted in: Combo
  • posted a message on [Primer] UR Storm
    Choosing between Opt and Sleight is not going to be easy, they both have pros and cons. It's going to be though to pick between a bit more of info (given by sleight that lets you see 2 cards simultaneously) and the instant speed of opt.

    Probably opt is going to replace peek in the fetchless version i guess
    Posted in: Combo
  • posted a message on [Primer] UR Storm
    So hi guys, I'm quite a beginner with Gifts Storm and I made my first "tuesday modern" with Gift Storm. Deck is awesome.

    Nothing special on the list, atm i'm playing with 1 noxious, 8 cost reducers, 2 remand and 2 peer through depths, 18 lands (fetchland manabase).
    Sideboard looks like this atm (it's Emma Handy's one):

    2 shattering spree
    2 pieces of the puzzle
    3 lightning bolt
    1 dismember
    2 swan song
    2 blood moon
    1 echoing truth
    2 empty the warrens

    So, i closed 3-1, i'm making a little report to understand if my SB'ing was good or how can I change plan.

    T1 vs Merfolks
    g1 is easy, i win the die roll. Start 2 cost reducers (cr from now on) in hand, drop one on turn 2, his t1 is island pass and t2 lord go, so he's tapout and i have my cr, untap and win
    g2 he has relics and 3 cursecatchers, but keep missing lords and so pressure. Though i misplay and get my Gifts countered after flooding my board with multiple cr, so he wins with master of waves.
    g3 he still has relic, catchers and grafdigger's. I have good hand but relies on PiF. He sacs relic to try to find pressure, I echoing truth cage (with swan song protection) during my combo turn, then PiF for the win.

    In: 1 Empty, 2 swan songs, 1 Echoing
    Out: 2 Remand, 1 noxious, 1 peer
    decided not to bring in removals because i thought i could be faster than him, preferred not to change maindeck config too much. Probably should have brought in Spree, not sure what cut tho.

    T2 vs Abzan Vizier Company
    nothing much to say here, g1 he is 1 turn faster, g2 i'm 1 turn faster, g3 i miss 2nd landrop (kept a t3 hand with echoing truth for eidolon, but was 1-lander with sleight, otd, should have mulled? i still think it's a keep..)

    In: 1 Dismember, 1 Echoing, 3 Bolts
    Out: 2 Remand, 1 Noxious, 1 Peer, 1 Gob 'mancer

    T3 vs Naya Goodstuff (?)
    g1 i completely **** up: it's my t3 and he has just 1 mana up and scooze+nacatl. I go baral, ritual that resolves so i'm free to go. I have grapeshot in hand but i completely forget to shoot scooze so i gifts and get my PiF eaten like a complete idiot. Still get to wrath his board and setup for a kill 2 turns later.
    g2 standard issues, i grapeshot his board and drop 12 gobs with Etw, he plays scooze that gets big fast but can't handle goblins and i win.

    In: 1 swan song, 1 lightning bolt, 1 echoing truth, 1 empty
    Out: 2 remand, 1 noxious, 1 sleight
    didn't quite know what to expect, so i tried a "catch-all" sb plan, leaving in peer in order to be able to find Echoing/swan for eventual Rule of law and/or eidolon.

    T4 vs GWr Vizier Company (never saw a red card in 3 games, just a sacred foundry, dunno)
    g1 he plays company t3 flipping devoted druid and fiend hunter to eat my cr, I untap, prepare for win next turn but he has 2nd company for Vizier+Duskwatch and I die to infinite ballista.
    g2 he has some board, i think i can go off but forgot i sided out noxious revival, so i have gifted for 3 rituals and pif with 1 mana in pool. Well he gives me rituals so whatever. Just show confidence when you present your gift pile and they panic completely lol.
    g3 he develops an incredible big board fast but i t4 him after eot t3 ritual+gifts for 2 cr, noxious and morphose (re-sided it in hehe), he gives me 2 cr, i untap and win (PiF+2 rituals in hand).

    In: 3 bolts, 1 empty, 1 echoing
    Out: 1 gifts, 1 gob mancer, 2 remand, 1 peer
    left in noxious cuz allows us to go faster i think. Should have i brought in also dismember? dunno.

    Closed 3-1, deck is great. Can't wait to see how it performs against something more interactive.

    Has anyone tried Caleb's SB plan against Grixis DS? (consists in cutting all the creatures and gifts for etw, bolt, potp and dismembers, i also bring in moon that caleb doesn't play)
    Posted in: Combo
  • posted a message on [Primer] Pauper Vine Storm
    Fine, I was running Deep Analysis in the outwit spot so I guessed a good replacement :p
    I decided I can't play without 2nd bauble and went down to 3 brainstorms instead of cutting Impulse, even if both are performing great atm. I lost a couple games for milling my torch and losing with only 1 bauble so until I am able to play the deck perfectly, I can't cut 2nd bauble.

    But I'm here mainly for another reason: Augur of Bolas is gonna be MTGO pauper legal (also in real if there's anyone playing paper pauper). This looks great to me, it can be summed up as "Anticipate for instant or sorcery, gain 3 life" at sorcery speed. It generally will just eat a bolt or random removal, or they'll just trample him over. Best case scenario they get stucked with 2/2s and we get some free chumps on 'em. That looks good and it is worth testing imho. Unfortunately, it doesn't take lotus or land.

    Any thoughts?
    Posted in: Developing
  • posted a message on [Primer] Pauper Vine Storm
    i'm not even sure if Impulse is better than the 2nd Conjurer's Bauble...
    Posted in: Developing
  • posted a message on [Primer] Pauper Vine Storm
    Thanks Raptor. My list atm looks a lot normal, but with 1x of Impulse



    Still have not a lot of ideas on how my sb should look like so i completely trusted Raptor's one (as soon as i get Outwits :D).
    Posted in: Developing
  • posted a message on [Primer] Pauper Vine Storm
    Guys i've been playing this deck for a while, but without great results.

    I have some questions:
    1- Why Brainstorm? I mean, it's good with shuffle (i'm on the 4-barrens train, i feel like that's just too good) and with SV, but i didn't manage to understand how to use it with vines decently. I rarely have a great amount of copies so that i can brainstorm, put 2 lands back and search for them too, sometimes i can't even take all the lands (i'm running 13 targets, 12 island-1 mountain). I wonder if i should play ponder instead or something else as a cantrip for setup turns

    2- Why only 3 tolarian winds? That card is the best card of the deck when we have to combo off. You can go search SV with it and without 1 of it you're just dead with a lot of lands in hand. I've been playing with 3 of it the whole time, but sometimes i just fizzle cuz i can't find the TW.

    Surely i'm making mistakes somewhere, the deck is really skill-intensive and i'm not even near mastering it yet.
    These are my main concerns atm, help me 'cause i really love the deck and i'd like to get better at it.
    Posted in: Developing
  • posted a message on "Oops, All Spells!" (Balustrade Spy and Undercity Informer)
    yeah but f**k those LEDs. I'd have been on dredge if they didn't spiked up to the infinite... Legacy is just too much money. I'll hope to win dual lands with this deck (totally at random) in order to build something more "fair" like Delver strategies or who knows what else. For these months, i'll just ask if they have force of will, even if i'm not a SI player Grin
    Posted in: Combo
  • posted a message on "Oops, All Spells!" (Balustrade Spy and Undercity Informer)
    Guys, I'm on the Allspells train too. I wanted to start legacy and Duals are soo much over my budget, so i decided to play no lands instead Grin
    Obviously, i'm going without the Belcher side plan too, hope i'll do fine. I'll let you guys know. Atm running the most standard possible list, with no chancellor maindeck (but with the manamorphose instead).
    Posted in: Combo
  • posted a message on Alesha, Who Smiles at Death
    Ok guys so i'm totally new to commander and i want to start it. I've been playing Alesha in tiny leaders and loved her so i decided to bring her/him (i read somewhere she's transgender or something like that) to the next level: commander. In these days i read the whole topic and I came out with this starting list.



    so this is the first first idea of the deck. Any kind of opinion would be useful.
    In the first games i see that Iroas, god of victory could be a great inclusion 'cause it allows to attack with alesha, reanimate sth and they're still going to live unless spot removals. That's just great, this means we can get value out of nowhere without losing pieces in combat. Basilisk collar should stay in there somewhere but Lightning greaves is so good at keeping alesha alive. Also i feel like Anger + buried alive is just incredibly powerful, as we can T5 play alesha and put a master of cruelties swinging ftw unless instant removal (or blockers obv)


    Just tell me if my list sucks or i what i should really change, it's really a first idea. Didn't listed the lands 'cause they're just "what i have at home" atm Grin
    Posted in: 1 vs 1 Commander
  • posted a message on Alesha, Who Smiles at #Value
    hi guys i'm in the Alesha train, too. I just love the format anf this deck, it's just awesome: ok here's my list:






    I'll just comment non-obvious choices:
    -champion of the parish: basically 15 creatures on 18 are humans and it gets buffed also by Alesha's trigger. Still don't know if it deserves a slot.
    -kytheon, hero of akros: just great 1 drop that flips really easily thanks to Alesha. After flipping, hits for 4, prevents damage on us or gives indestructible to a creature pre or post combat, untapping it too. Great, imho.
    -mardu strike leader, blade splicer and ghirapur gearcrafter: awesome sources of REAL card advantage. The leader can't be reanimated by alesha though... Not sure if i should play ghirapur gearcrafter or thopter engineer, but they basically do the same thing.
    -mirran crusader: how to beat Anafenza, the foremost. Just pray you draw it Grin
    -zealous persecution: wraths vs a not-so-developed board from Ezuri, renegade leader, combat tricks makes it really good vs aggro-midrange-taxes strategies.
    - i feel like the stoneblade package is too powerful. Must run it. Alesha+sword/greaves can be a wincon itself.
    - i don't have ghitu slinger 'cause i just discovered about him. Awesome.
    I guess i have nothing more to say... I'll just talk about matchups i had until now:
    +Brimaz death and taxes: really solid deck, brimaz is too OP. 50-50 though, we have more removal and Alesha gets the card-advantage run in our favor, developing the board too much if she isn't answered.
    +Anafenza Abzan: both aggro and midrange seems really though to beat, but didn't tested that much against it.
    +Jori En UR control: I think we should just wreck control strategies easily. Shu Yun is more though 'cause of secure the wastes and sphinx's revelation
    +Shu Yun UWR control: read up here
    +Ezuri elfball: damn this is impossible dudes. I think i never won a single game. I hope Ghitu Slinger will make it better.
    +Marath Naya Aggro: though, but not impossible. Gotta test a bit more against it.

    Should i run the entomb+gamble package? do you think it is worth it? what should i cut? The ability to tutor a key card that can be reanimated by alesha sounds good...
    Posted in: Variant Commander
  • posted a message on Ascendancy Storm
    Here i am with my updated list.




    This list is really likely to win T3 without opponent, i'd say 75% of the times.

    I just had a tournament in my local store, went 5-0.


    Grixis Twin:
    G1: I just do my stuff, he counters one of my ascendancies, but wish for the second, resolve it after silence and win from there with my mvp sylvan caryatid. He can't even kill my stitchers thanks to silence.
    G2: cantripping as hell, caryatid T3 (already had ascendancy). He goes deceiver in EOT and i have no mana neither echoing truth, but he has no splinter twin (phew). I untap, gitaxian, no counters, Ascendancy and GG.

    Side in: 1 echoing truth, 1 silence. Side out: 1 sleight of hand, 1 birds of paradise (one usually comes out against bolt decks)


    U tron:
    G1: nothing to say. He goes tron piece, map, tron piece, chalice of the void at 1, crack map and T4 sundering titan kills 3 of my lands and me.
    G2: He still as chalice, but this time it is late and set to 3. I echoing truth that, set ascendancy down. He re-drops it set at 1, but i just manage to win thanks to ideas unbound, manamorphose and 3 stitchers+caryatid. I just need a bunch of spells (i also got a 2nd ascendancy) to kill him.
    G3: I drop birds, T3 i go silence+ascendancy+double probe. You already know where this will go.

    Side in: 2 echoing truth, 1 silence. Side out: 2 sleight of hand, 1 manamorphose


    MonoW soldiers
    G1: He just develops his board hitting me really hard and i can't find ascendancy. Sylvan caryatid is preventing me from dying. I cantrip as hell, find a damn ascendancy but i haven't enough mana to cast it. I'm at 8, if i untap i'm the winner. Well, he sends me only to 1. I untap and combo off.
    G2: mull to 4, goddammit. Can't deal with his early pressure, i'm dead without doing that much..
    G3: Mull to 5, but to a good hand: 2 lands, caryatid, cantrip, ascendancy, pretty much the best i could have. I win T3. (I had only a cantrip and 2 draw steps, that were a land and another cantrip. Didn't fizzle at all, it's really difficult to fizzle, i repeat).

    Side in: 1 echoing truth. Side out: 1 silence


    Nykthos devotion (genesis wave, tooth and nails and stuff like those, awesome deck imho):
    G1: I know it's a favorable matchup, as we should combo off faster. G1 goes like it's supposed to, win t3 or t4, he just solved a Garruk wildspeaker.
    G2: Drop a t2 ascendancy with Birds, but he has nature's claim. I start cantripping, find another ascendancy and gitaxian probe. He has beast within and eternal witness. I can't draw all the four ascendancies, cause (f*** me) i've left all four in MB and wish can't find it, so i lose to his garruk wildspeaker's ultimate.
    G3: mull to 4. Another time. Well, i have a decent hand here, too: BoP, land, wish, cantrip. I draw the 2nd land, resolve glittering wish, take ascendancy. Untap t3 draw the awesome gitaxian probe (randomly off the top, yaaay) and win t3 after a mull to 4. THIS DECK IS ADGJFHGAJSKDF
    Side in: 1 echoing truth. Side out: 1 silence (i re-put it in in g3 for a sleight of hand)


    RG zoo:
    G1: he starts off mountain into goblin guide, i ***** in my pants. Thank god he isn't on Burn but on an aggro/zoo deck, and i have just enough time to drop 2 caryatids, chumpblock for a while and close the game from there. He apparently hasn't a lot of burn spells and no Eidolon, so it's ways better than expected
    G2: same as before, i'm low (7/8 life at t3) but at t4 i win even if he bolts one of my fatestitcher. Sylvan caryatid is there to stay, not to leave. This card is just awesome.
    Side in: 1 echoing truth. Side out: 1 sleight of hand

    So, 5-0 is good. I know that i haven't found tier1 decks, but this deck wrecks. I tested some more after tournament against twin, still won 3-1 (only loss due to t4 splinter twin). Can't wait to test more against other decks.
    Posted in: Combo
  • posted a message on Ascendancy Storm
    I'm playing 16 lands (6 fetch, 4 shock, 3 gemstone, 2 basics, 1 faerie conclave)
    Testing this last one, still not sure. Never had mana issues at all. I'll post the list whenever i can, now i'm from phone and i can't use stuff like deck tags etc.
    I also reeeaaally rarely fizzle after going off. I won 2 times aftee mull to 4
    Posted in: Combo
  • posted a message on Ascendancy Storm
    Quote from Lord Hazanko »
    Sylvan Caryatid is by far the best dork for the deck. The fact that it has hexproof is huge. Being able to block small guys is nice too though. You want Sylvan Caryatid in the deck. There's no legit reason not to run em.


    Your list is just so off...


    He's definitively right. Caryatid is just the best, as it can't be touched.
    Play without em is like giving a shot to beat us to any boltdeck, even our favorable matchup (naya aggro/coco, to say one...)

    P.s. i'll post my decklist and a report from a tournament within a bunch of hours
    Posted in: Combo
  • posted a message on Ascendancy Storm
    I guess i'm taking burn as an autoloss, i find nothing to deal with eidolon. If they don't draw into that, we still lose. At this point, we either win t3 without eidolon in play, or we die. I think i'm not going to put anything against them and just accept the loss in order to win other matchups
    Posted in: Combo
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